Hi.

May 4 Have You Had Enough?

We’ve heard it for years. Start a 401K. Open a Roth IRA. Save xx% of your income for a “rainy day”—one that is often so far into the future that we can’t even imagine. And so we blindly save. But, for what exactly?

That day when we call it quits and hang up our spurs, of course. When we trade in our professional life for one of infinite leisure—golf and umbrella drinks on the beach. Maybe it’s a new project, or reading to kids. Whatever your passion, it seems a bit silly to trade these future experiences for our daily grind.

From the view of this financial consultant, I have seen all too many of the best laid plans run aground. Inopportune health changes, family crisis, or ill-planned finances can bleed the colors of this once beautiful picture in an instant.

Which leads us to the obvious questions: Why wait? It is possible to have both now? Why not have some of these wonderful experiences in the form of “mini-retirements” now, instead of saving them all till the end? This thinking has led me to refer to our process as a “Life Plan” (now) vs. a “Retirement Plan” (future), because life is not a straight line, it’s curvy. And sometimes the more we try to straighten it out, the more stress we create.

Your “Life Plan,” therefore, should follow the natural ebbs and flows of your world. It should adjust and adapt to the gentle swales and hair pin curves that life gives us. It is a system; a process of integrating our passions, and resources into a plan, and developing solutions to make it happen, now. It starts with the plan, changes over time, and ends with the plan.

As an independent advisor with LPL Financial, Mark serves clients through financial planning and investment advising. Mark first joined IDS Financial Services, a division of American Express, in 1989 as a financial advisor and obtained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM designation in 1995.

Mark is a former adjunct faculty member of Baker University where he taught graduate and undergraduate finance and economics courses for nearly ten years. He has been featured in several publications regarding financial advice and is a regular speaker with various civic and academic organizations.

Mark received his undergraduate degree from St. Mary of the Plains College in 1984 and MBA from Pittsburg State University in 1988 after working in the banking industry.

Marian Dental Clinic – The public is invited to a special event on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. CST, for the launch of a satellite display from Creations of Hope Gallery, a collection of art dedicated to mental health awareness.